Clean Energy Firms Focus on Recycling Hydrogen Fuel Cells to Reduce Environmental Impact and Precious Metal Mining

The article discusses the recyclability of hydrogen fuel cells and their environmental impact. Major companies in clean energy such as Ballard and Matthey are focusing on ensuring the materials used in these vehicles can be recycled instead of ending up in landfills. The most valuable metal usually contained in fuel cells is platinum, which is used as a catalyst in the fuel cell’s electrodes. However, many of these precious metals are rare and environmentally unfriendly to mine. Recycling these materials reduces the need for mining them in the first place. The more companies invest in methods and systems for recycling, the greener they will be as a part of the global decarbonization effort.